The Manhattan Special Victims Unit struggles with the Morris Commission's uneasiness over Stabler and Jeffries while they investigate the murder of a man whose crotch was set on fire after he was shot in the face.

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The Manhattan SVU squad investigates the murder of a man who was set on fire, which Elliot's eldest daughter, Maureen, witnessed as Elliot was driving her home from the beach. Meanwhile, Elliot and Jeffries are under investigation by the Morris Commission, which causes Jeffries to be transferred to desk duty in order to further explain herself. Investigating, the squad finds out that the man, Andrew's son, Michael Goren, murdered him and set his genitals on fire. He confesses, claiming it was an accident, but they don't believe him. Investigating, the squad discovers that Andrew was actually a convicted pedophile who molested at least 11 boys that police know of, in both the United States and Canada. They come to believe that Andrew, who adopted Michael when he was eight, molested Michael ever since then, and that Michael, who is now 16 and a great kid, killed him to stop the abuse. New ADA, Alexandra Cabot, only agrees to a deal if Michael admits to the abuse, but he refuses, so she charges him with second-degree murder. Munch discovers that Andrew's past was covered up when he worked for a government company manufacturing parts for weapons. He learns from the company's head of security, a good man, that his past was covered up to prevent trouble crossing country lines and, for an unknown reason, wasn't fixed after the job was over. A comment by Maureen causes Stabler to look into Michael's best friend, Danny, who admits Andrew tried to rape him and he broke off his friendship with Michael after he did nothing about it. Stabler points out that Michael was molested since he was eight and while he might've been strong enough to fight him off now, he wasn't then, and now had no one to turn to. On the stand, Cabot points all of this out and Michael finally confesses to the molestation, but says he was used to it but it was when Andrew brought over someone else to join in that he couldn't stand it anymore. He believed the man could get away with anything, as he overheard him and Andrew discussing a murder he committed of a boy in Belgum, Michael's home country. Michael finally identifies the man: Craig Prince, head of the company that covered up Andrew's past. Craig is arrested for his crimes while the grand jury indicts Michael on manslaughter charges. In response to this and his testimony, Cabot makes a deal with Michael. Cragen testifies in Stabler's defense about the sort of crimes that he sees everyday that causes him to want to kill perpetrators. Cragen's defense of Stabler saves his job, but as the episode ends, Detective Odafin Tutuola arrives to take Jefferies' place.

"A child molester only has power as long as his secret is kept. You tell the truth, his power is gone."

– Alexandra Cabot

"What are the odds that you have a picture of Senator Joseph McCarthy tattooed on your ass?"

– John Munch

(Munch is calling an informant)

"I want to see your spook ass NOW!"

– John Munch

(Captain Cragen is showing photographs of "special victims" to illustrate the point of his unit's existence.)

"This little boy's mother stuck his hands on a frying pan until his fingers burned off. This rape victim required twelve hours of surgery to have a steel plate put into her head after her attacker pummeled her with a claw hammer. This one didn't make it! Is there ANYBODY on this panel who doesn't share Detective Stabler's anger for the perpetrators? This man is a good cop! As his Commanding Officer, I stand with him and every good cop who faces these horrors day after day and has the strength to keep his impulses in check. Now if you can look at these pictures and not understand that, the problem here isn't Elliot Stabler, is it?"

This episode also means the end for Michelle Hurd as regular character DetectiveMonique Jeffries. Jeffries had sex with a man whom she knew was a suspect in a case. After being seen as a possibly unbalanced person by the Morris Commission, Jeffries is reassigned to desk duty while she is re-evaluated. This is one of three episodes in the second season in which Hurd appears in the opening theme. The other two are "Asunder" and "Runaway".

When Elliot Stabler comes into the office wearing a Hawaiian shirt, John Munch makes a snide comment about Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy Buffett is an American singer-songwriter whose songs typically revolve around beaches, tropical islands and laid back parties. His fans, dubbed "Parrot-Heads," generally assume the uniform of a Hawaiian shirt and shorts when Buffett plays a concert that they go to see.

The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center are briefly seen in this episode.